A local teenager remained in jail Monday on charges that he stole an Augusta University van and used a stolen credit card for gas and fast food, authorities said.
Naquan James, 19, of Augusta, was charged with two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, credit card theft and obstruction of an officer.
The Econoline van was stolen in broad daylight Feb. 16 while parked beside the Scuplture and Ceramics building on Patrol Drive. A university coordinator said a worker likely left the keys inside the van, which was valued at $22,000. A gas card connected to the van had also been used at least 10 times to charge hundreds of dollars from local convenience stores and purchase food from Wendy’s.
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With help from the sheriff’s office’s FLOCK tag system, the van was located on Feb. 20 on 13th Avenue. The teen suspect was captured after running from the stolen van. Inside James’ wallet was the Augusta University WEX fuel card with a Post-It note providing the pin number and instructions on how to fuel up the van.
Authorities discovered that the van had a fresh stolen tag, taken from a local church and a “How’s my driving” sticker that wasn’t there before. Also, the van had sustained serious damage and was filled with the smell of marijuana, as well as a bottle of Hennessy. Later, officers found several cigar packs, multiple food containers and condiments, a Styrofoam cup with liquor inside and a receipt from Wendy’s.
“There were several fresh dents and scratches around the outside of the van,” a campus police report says. “The Augusta University stickers were ripped off the sides of the van with part of the stickers still showing.”
The estimate to repaint the van was for over $6,000, the report says.
